Conveyors may be used in a wide variety of industries for transportation of bulk materials or small parts. Additionally, some conveyors may be used to perform processing operations such as screening, transferring, heating, cooling, and other such processing operations on bulk materials such as food products, sand, gravel, foundry parts, or the like.
The inventors have identified some shortcomings in some conveyor assemblies, particularly in conveyor assemblies which fasten one or more components together. Conveyor assemblies may comprise relatively large components, such as a conveyor pan, that may be difficult for operators to clean or replace due to the complex connection of the conveyor pan to a drive motor and/or a conveyor mount.
As one example, due to the difficulty of the conveyor pan of a conveyor, one or more tools and people may be needed to loosen and remove the conveyor pan to access components arranged below the conveyor pan, such as the drive motor and/or the conveyor mount. Therefore, if the conveyor assembly demands servicing (e.g., cleaning, repair, and/or the like), then bolts and other fasteners are loosened prior to a conveyor pan being removed, which may be time consuming and physically demanding.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential solutions to production delays as a result of cleaning or servicing the conveyor assembly. In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a conveyor system comprising a drive carriage comprising a plurality of magnets spaced away from a drive motor, and where the magnets apply a force to a conveyor pan in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of the conveyor pan. In this way, the conveyor pan is removable from the conveyor assembly without loosening bolts or the like.
As one example, the conveyor assembly may be cleaned and serviced more quickly. Additionally, the plurality of magnets may provide a more consistent and uniform locomotion of the conveyor pan. Bolts and other fasteners may degrade over time due to frictional forces, however, the magnetic field supplied by the magnets may not degrade over time, thereby providing a uniform relation between the conveyor pan and the drive motor. Additionally, decoupling of the conveyor pan from the drive carriage may be faster than loosening one or more bolts. The decoupling may occur in response to actuating a lever. As such, the magnetic force may only be overcome in response to an external force (e.g., a user actuating a lever) and not due to the conveyance of items on the conveyor pan.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.